1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a video image capture controller which can capture video images from a peripheral unit, such as a multi-function digital copier, and which can then transfer captured video image data to a document image management server.
2. Discussion of the Background
It may be desirable under certain circumstances to capture video image data from a peripheral unit, and particular a peripheral unit which includes a scanner such as a multi-function digital copier, and transfer the captured video image data to a document image management server. In this situation, a document image management server is a central server which can store a plurality of video image data and which can be accessed through a network.
In this type of system, a plurality of users connected to the network would have access to the video image data captured from the peripheral unit through the network to which the document image management server was also connected.
However, in such a system the captured raw video image data from the peripheral unit contains a great amount of information which would thus correspond to very large data files. In order for such a system to be currently feasible, the raw video image data captured from the peripheral unit must be compressed prior to being stored in the document image management server. This requirement of compressing the captured raw video image data results in certain problems.
More particularly, when a high speed multi-function digital copier as a peripheral unit scans a document for which video image data is to be captured, such a scanning can be performed at a very high speed. However, an operation of compressing such scanned raw video image data is significantly slower than the operation of scanning the document to generate the raw video image data. Therefore, the operation of compressing the raw video image data is a bottleneck in the overall system performance.
As a result, when compressed video image data of a document is to be provided to a document image management server, the scanning speed of the document in the multi-function digital copier peripheral unit is reduced to correspond with the speed that the raw video image data can be compressed.
This result is particularly problematic when the peripheral unit is a multi-function high speed digital copier. More particularly, and as noted above, if a peripheral unit as a multi-function high speed digital copier is scanning a document to generate scanned document raw video image data, the scanning operation will have to be slowed down to match a speed at which the scanned document raw video image data can be compressed. Slowing down such a scanning speed essentially defeats the purpose of utilizing a multi-function high speed digital copier in the first place. Needless to say, slowing down the scanning speed also reduces productivity and increases delays in utilizing the multi-function high speed digital copier.
Another problem which may arise in such a system is that when the scanned raw video image data is transferred, the scanned raw video image data is also transferred with accompanying control codes indicating data of a page size, page resolution, etc. of the raw video image data. In certain circumstances there may be a delay in transferring the control codes relative to transferring the scanned raw video image data. In this instance there may be a loss of any scanned raw video image data which proceeds its accompanying control codes.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-noted and other problems. It is one particular object of the present invention to overcome the above-noted and other problems.
It is more particularly an object of the present invention to provide a novel image management system, and more particularly a novel video image capture controller utilized therein, which can operate at a high scanning speed of a peripheral unit, and particularly when the peripheral unit is a high speed multi-function digital copier.
The present invention thereby provides a novel image data storing system, and more particularly a novel video capture controller therein, which can allow for operation in a filing mode in which video image data generated from a peripheral unit, such as a multi-function digital copier, can be provided to a document image management server without reducing a speed of generating the raw video document image data from the peripheral unit.
The present invention achieves these and other objects by providing a novel image data storage system, and more particulary a novel video image capture controller therein, in which raw video image data from a peripheral unit can be captured and compressed image data based on the captured raw video image data can be transferred to an image management server. The novel video image capture controller of the present invention includes a control processor, a first memory, and a second memory. The first memory stores raw video image data from the peripheral unit under control of the control processor. The raw video image data stored in the first memory is then converted into compressed video image data, and is then stored in the second memory, again under control of the control processor. Then, the compressed video image data stored in the second memory is transferred to the image management server. Moreover, in the present invention the control processor stops any executing operation of converting the raw video image data stored in the first memory into compressed video image data and stops any executing of the transfer of the compressed video image data from the second memory to the image management server while the first memory is storing the raw video image data. Such an operation in the present invention ensures that the scanned raw video image data can be quickly stored in the first memory so that the scanning operation can proceed at a high speed. Only after all of the raw video image data is stored in the first memory does the control processor then operate to compress such stored raw video image data and then subsequently transfer the compressed video image data to the image management server.
Another object of the present invention is to ensure that when raw video image data is provided from a peripheral unit, such raw video image data is not lost, and particularly if there is a delay in providing control codes which accompany the raw video image data. This situation may become particularly problematic when the raw video image data and control codes are provided on separate communication lines. Addressing this problem also ensures being able to maintain a high speed scanning operation in the peripheral unit.
Moreover, even with the above-noted structure and operation of initially storing raw video image data in the first memory, a problem may still arise if the raw video image data cannot be stored in the first memory at the same high speed as the scanning can be performed in the peripheral unit.
To achieve further objects of the present invention, a DMA engine and third memory can be added between the peripheral unit and the first memory. This third memory can take the form of a page memory which, upon initially receiving raw video image data from the peripheral unit, sets page size information in the page memory to a maximum of page size data which can be provided from the peripheral unit, and which then modifies the set page size data after receiving appropriate control codes. With such an operation in the present invention, if the control codes are delayed with respect to the raw video image data provided from the peripheral unit, the raw video image data is not lost but will be stored until the control codes are provided.
A further benefit of the present invention of utilizing this third memory is that it provides a buffer if the operation of storing the raw video image data into the first memory is slightly slower than the operation of scanning the document to generate the raw video image data.